Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Sunday during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Muslim protesters across the Middle East are “taking appropriate action” against Americans in the widespread protests that swept the Arab world last week.

Asked by host Bob Schieffer if he believes the Obama administration is doing something wrong, McCain suggested the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya was due to President Barack Obama’s strategy of “disengagement.”

“We’re leaving Iraq. We’re leaving Afghanistan. We’re leaving the area,” he said. “The people of the area are having to adjust. They believe the United States is weak, and they are taking appropriate action.”

The comments appear to be an embrace of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s politicization of the deaths of U.S. embassy staff and U.S. ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens. Romney said during the late hours of Sept. 11 that a U.S. embassy statement in Cairo urging calm and disavowing the film that sparked the protests. The Republican presidential candidate doubled down on attacking American diplomats and the president even after it was learned that Americans had been killed in Libya.

Instead of continuing to speak about Libya, McCain shifted his focus to Iran, telling Schieffer that Obama is “in an open fight” with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over how close Iran may be allowed to get to developing nuclear weapons. “Instead, shouldn’t we be telling the Iranians we’re together and there are boundaries you cannot cross?” he asked.

Obama’s former Republican opponent concluded his comments with a seeming endorsement of military campaigns in Iran and Syria: “By the way, the Arab world would be celebrating in private if we deal this blow to the Iranians,” he said. “Again, the Syrian people need our help.”

About the Author

Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement’s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.